Tsunami Surge Fizzles Along California Coast

LOS ANGELES – The Coast Guard in Southern California reports no noticeable surges or waves related to a tsunami advisory following a magnitude-8 earthquake in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa.

Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Tyler Stutin said late Tuesday that there has been nothing of significance at four on-shore locations in Morro Bay, Channel Islands Harbor, Newport Harbor and the Port of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County lifeguards cleared beaches at about 8 p.m. Tuesday as a precaution.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, a harbor patrol official at San Mateo County's Pillar Point Harbor reported no noticeable rise in the water.

In nearby Pacifica, police closed Pacific Pier earlier that usual, though the waves late Tuesday were reported to be no bigger than those generated during a winter storm.

The initial wave arrivals were expected to begin at about 9 p.m. Tuesday and increase in intensity into early Wednesday.

At least 82 people are confirmed dead in the Samoa islands following a tsunami that smashed the southern shore of the South Pacific nation.